The Northampton community came out in droves at Pulaski Park and then marched to Smith College to urge the college to reverse its decision to permanently close the Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill on June 4, 2027.
Reminder Publishing photo by Trent Levakis
NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton community came out in droves for a march from Pulaski Park to Smith College to urge the college to reverse its decision to close the Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill on June 4, 2027.
Organized by Save Fort Hill, a group formed in response to the announcement, Smith College and Fort Hill staff, families of children attending Fort Hill, and many community members gathered to demand the decision be reversed. During the demonstration, many expressed frustration that the college’s sudden announcement and the process that followed lacked transparency, especially after the college announced the decision to Fort Hill teachers and the rest of the Smith community on Oct. 19.
Many said the Smith administration did not consult its faculty or staff about their childcare needs, and it did not communicate with the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, which licenses the center, or with local government before the announcement.
Multiple speakers noted that Fort Hill’s 29 teachers were given no indication that this possibility was on the horizon. Fort Hill is Northampton’s second-largest childcare center, serving about 80 children from 2 months old through preschool age.
“Smith College states that they have a commitment to community engagement. What does that look like in practice? No surveys were sent out. No issues about equity or otherwise were brought to the bargaining table, where our union members, not Smith College administrators, are the ones thinking deeply about making early ed[ucation] more accessible,” said Fort Hill infant toddler teacher Kaila Goldstein.
Goldstein added, “The combined loss in this area of the Center School in Greenfield, set to close the same month that Smith would like to close Fort Hill, the beloved Hampshire College Early Learning Center, and Fort Hill, means that about 200 spots for children under the age of 5 and their families are not going to exist. That also leaves nearly 100 teachers looking for jobs that don’t exist. The community bears the cost of this decision and receives nothing in return. Is that how Smith College sees community engagement?”
The announcement was shared in a letter from Smith Vice President of Human Resources Anne-Marie Szmyt on Oct. 19, saying the college’s closure decision followed a review of its childcare benefits. Shortly after, Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton emailed the Smith community an update on the college’s childcare benefits and Fort Hill’s future.
“Following a review of our current benefit programs, the College will significantly expand its childcare benefit to cover employees with children age 0 to 12 enrolled at any licensed and accredited childcare provider. Under the current model, childcare support is limited exclusively to the Smith College Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill and children ages 8 weeks to preschool,” Willie-LeBreton wrote. “This is a thoughtful and difficult decision because it involves a significant reallocation of resources such that Fort Hill will close on June 4, 2027.”
Willie-LeBreton added that with the expanded benefit, Smith families will have the freedom to choose licensed and accredited childcare aligned with their schedules and tailored to their specific needs. Currently, around 45 employees participate in the college’s childcare benefit program, and the expanded benefit will allow approximately 350 faculty and staff employees to receive a childcare subsidy based on the child’s age, according to the letter.
The college said the decision to close Fort Hill and allow more families to use childcare benefits at other providers was not a budget-relieving decision, as the school will reallocate its current investment toward the “modern, broader, childcare benefit model.”
According to the college’s website, full-time care for the school year starts at $31,925 for infants, $29,570 for toddlers and $23,100 for preschoolers and college employees who qualify for a subsidy receive 25% off of tuition for one child and 30% for other children enrolled.
Smith College employees can send their children there at a discounted rate, but the school is open to anyone in the community. Smith students have access to Fort Hill as part of their education studies, and faculty can also use the center to conduct research.
Since the announcement, many parents have said the proposed closure would add to a deficit already felt by families across the Pioneer Valley, as spots become scarcer and more expensive, and many are regularly put on waitlists for long periods. Many at the march shared concerns about being left on their own after this decision and how they would navigate alternative care if the center closed.
The Northampton community came out in droves at Pulaski Park and then marched to Smith College to urge the college to reverse its decision to permanently close the Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill on June 4, 2027.
Reminder Publishing photo by Trent Levakis
Smith College faculty member Mehammed Mack stood behind his almost three-year-old son, who attends Fort Hill, as he called for the center to be saved. Mack said the college could not confirm how many spots are available for infants and toddlers in the area and that he and others affected, including Save Fort Hill organizers, called all the other childcare providers in town and were told there were no spots.
“We don’t know how they’re getting the information they say they’re getting. I was also told by the VP of Human Resources that providers were contacted about spots and were warned about the imminent closure. Having just visited all these schools and asking these people, they were not warned. They were in the dark about that too, so this affects them,” Mack said. “For me, the biggest tragedy here is that the administration never came to us, to parents, to staff, to members of the community. They never came to us to try to save Fort Hill. We have a wealth of talent and information and expertise … Saving Fort Hill and the expansion of benefits, those are not two mutually exclusive things. We can do both.”
In 2024, Fort Hill educators unionized with a unanimous vote and joined UAW Local 2322. Since 2025, they have been engaged in ongoing first contract negotiations. Union members explained they came to the bargaining table pushing for creative solutions to improve and preserve the program for future generations of children and families, only to see the college consistently reject their proposals, even those that simply seek to maintain the school’s current practices.
Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra shared a public statement on Oct. 28 before the march, calling the planned closure “heartbreaking news for Northampton families and our community.”
“I recognize and appreciate Smith College’s commitment to expanding childcare benefits for its employees. This is a meaningful investment in working families. At the same time, financial assistance alone cannot address the shortage of available childcare. Preserving existing capacity is equally important,” Sciarra said.
Sciarra added that she is hopeful that, through a new operating arrangement or partnership, there is a way to avoid losing the “desperately” needed childcare spots, and that her office has been in discussions with the college and community organizations that have expressed interest in exploring that possibility.
According to Sciarra, Northampton Public Schools Superintendent Annie Azarloza has also expressed interest in expanding the district’s preschool programming to full-day, five-day-a-week offerings at all four elementary schools. She said this could be another opportunity to increase access to early childhood education in the community.
“These efforts address different needs, and neither offers a complete solution on its own. But there are promising possibilities worth exploring,” Sciarra said. “[Fort Hill] is a community institution that has helped generations of families raise and educate their children. I am hopeful that by working together, we can find a path forward that honors its legacy and supports the families and educators who depend on it.”
The next bargaining session between the union and the college will be on Nov. 9, when union members and the Fort Hill community will continue to demand that the college reverse the decision and provide more transparency.
The Northampton community came out in droves at Pulaski Park and then marched to Smith College to urge the college to reverse its decision to permanently close the Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill on June 4, 2027.
Reminder Publishing photo by Trent Levakis
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